#Terra showed up outta nowhere

[sadiecoocoo]

Remember in Teen Titans (the good one) when Raven sort of died and then came back and bb was rlly freaked out cuz she was acting different? Remember when she responded to that with “don’t worry, blue is still my favorite color, and you’re still not funny.” And remember in that one episode where bb and cyborg went into Raven’s mind scape meditation thingy and Raven revealed that pink was her favorite color and that she thought bb was funny?

I think that she said the wrong things one purpose then, because she knew that bb would understand that she was sort of saving face since that information was sort of something only they shared (with the exception of cyborg but he’s the third wheel bestie so yknow)

[minijenn]

Aqua is looking at her plushy of Terra thinking when is he going to come home from seeing Cinderella and The Prince but he’s already right behind her smiling calmly XDD

Imo then she turns around and sees him and is startled enough by him showing up right the fuck outta nowhere that she lobs her plushie at his head

[beowulfs-booty-call]

SG Headcanons? SG Headcanons: Beowulf Edition™

Beowulf is stated to be very patriotic in his voice lines and Parasoul references his work “with” them, before rudely telling him to retire if she wins against him. This means that she also knew about the plan with the Medici Mafia to fight a drugged Grendel and win against him for the sake of the war against foreigners / the Skullgirls. However, this may also mean Beowulf participated in the war or had some sort of encounter with the royal family, if not being the entertainment for them in some manner. I personally think King Renoir oversaw his match against Grendel and made sure to work the deal so as to work up the favor for the canopy kingdom.

Beowulf also likes to drink Chamomile tea after first killing Grendel, it was offered to him as a way to sleep, and as such, it helped get over the restless nights where all he could sometimes do was realize… He may have actually killed a friend. I wanna think that there is some idea that he’s killed Grendel, but he’s repressed it into the psyche he plays off as Beowulf™

There’s been times Beowulf sits on the couch just to hope he can relax, but all he does is sit in his robe, boxers and tank top and just idles. His mind runs a whole bunch and he’s distracted with the idea of “What’s his purpose? What’s his use? What really is Beowulf?”

I actually project myself through Beowulf, lot like other characters such as Terra Branford or Eriko Kirishima, but I like to believe that Beowulf actually took his name up instead of being born with it. If not, he went with “Just Beowulf” instead because he’s a simple guy. That’s all he needs.

He’s also a really hard worker, but, he’s prone to sometimes over doing it AKA training every day with his weights or the gym because it’s been mentally drilled into him. If he wanted to be the best, he HAD to be the best. It’s one of the reasons he drinks Chamomile tea often: to relax and let things take place. At 37 years old, he was prone to feeling like he wouldn’t be able to finish every goal he wanted until he was “old”. He understands a bit better now that his accomplishments will last at the end of his storyline.

In the TV show Annie and Beowulf run, Beowulf is the superhero to the kids of New Meridian, while also taking on many new opponents in the ringside. He’s much more a WWE styled wrestler in that he’s back to being a celeb now, but still has his humble beginnings. He also has dated on and off again, but, even in the show he makes empty compliments / receives them from both genders. “What a strong man…” “Ah, thank you sir! Wulfman eats 8 dozen eggs every mornin’ just for trainin’!” “Oh… If only that amazing, handsome Captain Wulf was here…!” “Never fear, the Wulf is here! And… He’s free any time on Friday 8pm at Yu-Wan’s!”

Every morning he wakes up and does 125 squats, 200 pec decks, 225 crunches…

COMFORT CLOTHES EVERY DAY THIS MAN ONLY WEARS HIS BOXERS AND TANK TOPS OR SWEATS HE’S STILL A COLLEGE STUDENT.

When “incognito”, he just wears sunglasses and a baseball cap. Smooth.

Beowulf has also been a little on the chubby side as a kid, but mainly from eating well from backhome. I like to think he was born in the Canopian kingdom, but just has blood in other places he just hasn’t known or seen yet. It would make sense to the Geatish Trepak or Norse / Viking inspired moves to the original Beowulf anyhow. He came to the Canopy Kingdom fresh out the humble life and immediately found himself attracted to the rough and tumble before being let into the wrestling federation to prove his skills.

I like to think either he got his pelt from a Wolf he grew up with that later died peacefully, or, he hunted when he was younger before seeing a wolf die at the end of the hunt. No use for wolf meat where he came from, and in anger at the loss of life, he skinned the wolf for its pelt and vowed to take its place instead. He’s vehement of animal rights, but also tries his best to be open to nature despite hunting as his ideology is to live off the land with just what he needs.

I wanna also say that where Beo grew up in may have a cultural practice where the people take the pelts of animals they use to represent themselves. Bears for patriarchs/matriarchs, weasels / rats for children, otters for teens, and so on so forth. The wolf pelt was taboo and he later used it in rebellion to what he saw in it. Another idea is that the wrestling federation also has animal gimmicks as a way of bringing in the crowd Ala “The man from outta nowhere / Down under.”

Actually has a secret pen name and writes critiques about Operas / musicals and has an appreciation for Jazz as well as the late Contiello  family. He has been known to show up, decked out, and seat himself in the best seat, only to scream at the singers / actors with critiques. “JEEZ, MARIA, CAN YOU SING ANY LOWER? I CAN’T HEAR YOU FROM THE BALCONY.” “HEY SKULLBETH, DO YOURSELF A FAVOR AND BREAK A LEG WITH THAT CLASS ACT.” “YOU CALL THAT AN ARIA, I CALL THAT DIAR–” Of course no one expects this, so, the surprise comes in the form of a well made, thought out essay based on the finer points of the actions and tribulations the actors did or sang. He’s also a stickler for analysis!

The Hurting was actually a parting gift from the local wrestling federation: Just like Hrunting was given to him by Unferth, The Hurting was given to Beowulf by his old sleazy manager where ironically, hasn’t proven unuseful to this day

Immediately and utterly distracted by dogs, he can’t help it. He’s consumed with love over them and would postpone a battle just to pet one.

Unlike the public opinion, he has a master’s degree in English as well as Sociology, though, he’s not one to flex the brain muscles because he has to maintain the psyche of a warrior half the time. This is why he always whispers when fighting with people, while also pretending wrestling is “real” and “isnt”, he’s more focused on maintaining character

Grendel can in fact hear everything Beowulf is saying pre-Marie death, however, all he hears is Beowulf’s fighting quotes: “RUNNIN’ WILD, ALL’S CHAIR, TAKE A LOAD OFF!” (I have a comic planned for this lol)

Grendel’s arm is partially sentient, though he can hear and act, he still gets where his “friend” is coming from time to time. 

The Hurting gets reupholstered time to time, lots of fashion choices to be really honest, too little time to decide.

Unironically, Beowulf actually digs wearing skimpy clothes / speedos when weather permitting / in the mood, however… He doesn’t understand the social aspects of one, so, one he ran into the ring in a regular wrestling speedo and well… Let’s just say there’s a reason the beta drew that ONLY.

Went to college with Adam Kapowski, though, he mainly spoke to him over complaining about his physical education courses / wrestling club “Look, man, I got this cute professor but like, he doesn’t know jack shit over suplexing. Why? BECAUSE EVEN VICTORIA CAN SUPLEX ME BETTER THAN HE CAN”

Has once met Ms. Victoria during his offseason time when retired and she thought he was a villain when he applied to be a librarian, however, when she shows up as D. Violet, and scopes him out “closing” up, she finds him… Bench pressing book cases before she hurries back, still very concerned over the fact that she has to share her students with a supposed gigan wrestler.

Children flock to him for advice and training, and he loves it. When working as a librarian, he would help tutoring or cheer on students, as well as the whacky prank of stealing the janitor’s mop and mobile and would ride it down the halls with the kids. 

When time came to retire out of retirement, the kids came together and made him a botched card thanking him for all he did. Later, he would return to the ring and dedicate his first match to those very kids, and Ms. Victoria, who all sat in the front seats to the match, each with free Wulf™ merch.

Victoria respects him after this, though, she believes he may just be the silliest warrior to show up. D.Violet though has an unrequited crush on him. I’m tickled to fathom they maybe get married, but Beo isn’t one for really being tied down as he is now.

I’m biased to saying he marries me, but hey, that’s not what this post is about: Relationship wise, Beo is fine with no ring, but he’s not much for the ball and chain. He likes to build things up slow and steady, and extremely affectionate due to not receiving that love as much before.

Despite his exterior, his chest hair is like, soft af. Arm hair though isn’t easy and lemme tell you, dude is hairy everywhere. So, he makes it a point to not care and just trim the beard here and there. Also made a very bad commercial about hair loss and body hair despite the fact he doesn’t have those issues.

His hair is super curly so he just brushes it to the side. That’s it. That’s the goddamn cowlick hair cut we all love

Is the only one to know Annie’s true self, but pretends not to for the sake of being another “dumb mortal”. He implies he knows Annie isn’t the same Annie as “before”, but only to draw her ire. At the end of the story line, though, Annie and him grow closer enough that he admits his knowledge and Annie becomes his wingman and bro. 

And I mean bro as in, homegirl screens all would be dates / gf / bf and also manages to make time to meet at their favorite local diner. She hates the amount of hate he gets time to time for being “basic” but she herself is your run of the mill “anime magical girl”. Annie chalks it up to the fact no one cares about talent anymore, but Beowulf still believes Annie has some talent left in her, despite her not seeing it. It’s one of those key reasons she’s very big on his wellbeing: He trusts and believes in her when not many people do. They just believe in the girl of the stars, not Annie.

Annie likes to WHUMP her face on him when embarrassed, and many a time people have walked into his chest or abs because he’s 6′7″ HE’S A FUCKING GIANT. He doesn’t mind it, in fact, he’s flattered by it on the inside ‘cuz he’s a smug Wulf.

Annie, after about 2 weeks being his best friend, cracks many raunchy jokes with him, though, he also brags about certain things he knows she probably won’t experience to her dismay. “Man, Annie, I would have really taken you out to the bar, but oh, I forgot, they don’t serve children!” “Wulf, you’re lucky a 12 year old can’t stab a middle aged man.” “Excuse me princess, would you like another helping of Dinosaur nuggets and fries?”

Tired Wulf Boi Curls Up and Sleps

Cried because he saw those ASPCA commercials

Would fuck a werewolf. Would fuck a monster for the ride of his life. Would also have the gas running and the car ready in case you need the body hid. He’s a ride or die sort of dude, he makes it known when you wake him up too early without context.

“Oh, gosh, golly, gee” is something he copies from Annie time to time

Struggles also, not to curse around her. Dick-tionary, Ass-ets, Douche-Nozzler the gobbledygook. All Annie™ words.

Broke a laptop just by touching it, can now hold a toaster in his hands.

Would not get the reality of wearing a collar. “Wow, you must have a nice do–”

Is still waking up each morning ready to find and craft his purpose in life. He’s used to it not knowing, but he’s clearing his head so far

[powerovernothing]

A little while back I saw that that the most lovely @sevi007​ created a super wonderful post based around the idea of a crossover happening with Yondu and Peter based around the film Road to El Dorado.

Now, considering that’s one of my all time favorite animated movies, and the concept is just way too fitting for our Local Space Assholes that we know and love... well, honestly, I couldn’t help but get inspired and write my own take on this fantastic idea.

So, with that in mind, as well as knowing this is totally in honor of Sevi’s great headcanons, please take a moment and consider both Yondu Udonta and Peter Quill in an over the top scenario similar to the one of the film.

Imagine the two of them in the roles of Miguel and Tulio, but shift the plot ever so slightly so that it fits the world of the Guardians of the Galaxy.

Meaning that, while it’s still based on Road to El Dorado of course, it goes from two best friends searching for a golden city, to a father and son looking for great riches...in space!

And while that idea alone can totally create something hilarious with great dialogue, allow me to take a moment and discuss in further detail my own thoughts of what this grand Ravager Family adventure would entail.

(Lots of Yondad and Star Son crossover headcanon and fic under the cut! Prepare for a mix of many feelings~!)

~Both Ravager Father and Son pulling many a scam, as they often do, on some backwater hub on some equally tattered planet, to earn a few extra units on the side -- “’Cussa can’t have on’ too many units, eh, boy?” -- and having it go all so perfectly with Yondu at the head of said scams -- until Peter manages to set his eyes upon a particular holo-map of an unmarked planet being tossed into the betting pile. One that he, oh so surely, believes is indeed their massive ticket to massive wealth -- because when dealing with something that unique, why on earth would it ever be anything else? -- and thus completely forcing his old man into one final game to try his hand in winning their original earnings as well as the map to boot: “Pops, check this shit out! Look at it! Just imagine all the untapped potential! The mystery! The units! The women! It could be like our, I dunno, our destiny or something to find this place before anyone else! Possibly even our fate!” “Boy, if ah’even so much as believed in any’sorta idea o’fate, ah’wouldn’t be sitting up in this shitty bar with you tossing around loaded dice!” “Aw, c’mon, Yondu!” “Oh, don’tcha even start -- not with ‘dem damn eyes of yers -- aw, hell!”

~Them actually winning the game, without a doubt, and collecting the units and the map...but sadly ending up getting caught because of all their scamming done to the locals -- “Guess ‘that ol’ Ravager luck was bound to run out sometime, eh, pops?”/”Dont’cha go blaming ‘dis shit on me now, boy! Ya the one wanted the fool map ta’ begin with!” -- and thus, having to create yet another con just to get away with their asses in tact. Meaning, but of course, fake fighting each other all the way out of the bar and towards some amount of safety. Which looks almost too convincing to any sort of onlookers that aren’t sure what is teasing, conning, or actual truth when it comes to Captain and Star Lord. (But that’s okay, because sometimes neither do they.)

“Ya go an’ raise a boy ever since he was nutfin more ’den ah’ scrawny lil’ youngin, and what he go and do ta’ya in return? Give you loaded dice ta’ get’cha nabbed by’th law?! What kinda’ son would’a -- ah! Nova Core thank’tha stars yer here! Go on now! Arrest ‘dis embarrassment; drag ‘im outta ma’ sight!” “What the hell, you arrogant blueberry? I put up with all your crazy bull for years, and you wanna start shit talking me like this?! When you're the one controling all the cons in the first place, and just pullin’ me along for the ride! No way, arrest him! He’s the crooked one!” “Tha’ it, boy, I just about had enough outta yoo’! Ya and yer damn disrespect! If ya got any sorta scrote left’on ya, you would flash ‘em fancy blasters of yers, and show what kinda man you really are!” “A better man than you, obviously! Come on, let’s go! I’ve been wanting to do this for years!”

~Both of them escaping far away from the various aliens wanting their heads because of their tricks -- after all the blaster shots, whistles, and countless amounts of property damage ring throughout the bar and the streets --  as well as the Nova that has become too done with these two to ever be lenient ever again. And very ‘cleverly’ stowing away on a, what they assumed to be at the time, completely ship and having to escape from that in the end as well.

Because apparently fate -- “And boy, ah’really wish ya’d stop using ‘dat damn term.” -- just loves to take the piss out of them whenever convenient. So they end up floating in a poor, pitiful, half functioning escape pod in the middle of space’s absolute nowhere as wait for life support to give out. "Pops, you ever think that we'd end up going out like this?" "...Well, shit, lotta ways ah’thought our last moments would go, but nowhere near ‘dis humiliatin’" "Hah, well since we're probably gonna kill over any second now, ya got -- I dunno, any regrets, old man?" "A'sides dying out n’space with’cha, boy?" "Yep." "Pffft, hell 'course I do. One bein’ -- I ain't never had ‘nough credits t’pay off all 'em bounties an’ threats on all 'em planets." "My regret -- 'sides killin' over -- is that our most badass adventure, our most epic Ravager heist, is friggin' over before it really even got going, and ain't no one even gonna remember what we did! In this planet. Or in that star system. Or how many people we pissed off in that one..." "Prob’ly space exposure  gettin' all up in these ol' eyes or sumfin -- but I figure I oughta let'cha know, Pet --" "Oh wait, don't tell me. Right before you die on me, leaving me all alone in this escape pod -- and first of all, how effing dare you -- ya gonna tell me something all sappy and heartfelt? Like, how you never knew jackshit about raisin’ a kid, but you did your best and in the end ‘I really came ta care fer ya like my own, Petey, and I don’t wanna leave ya, even though it’s mostly all my fault in the first place -- ‘" "...Al'rite 'dats it. I had this whole' speech all rearin' to go, but ya just had to go and ruin it. Well, fergit' it; ya ain't worth the breath. And it was damn nice too, ah’ll have ya know." "Yeah, yeah...love ya too, Yondu."

~The two of them eventually getting out of the pod, (After crashing landing, with a lot of loud swears, whistling, and throwing the blame around. Because obviously this is Peter’s fault somehow.) and even despite the super close call, Peter then realizes where exactly they ended up and having a sudden second wind full of adventure and excitement!

“‘Ey, boy, getc’ha ass over here and help out with this ‘ere pod! We gotta get it runnin...unless o’course yer wanting to make dis ‘ere yer second Terra --” “Holy shit, Yondu.” “Quill, now, I expect ya’ to answer me when I’m orderin --” “Holy shit, Yondu! You are not going to believe our luck!” “What are ya shout-- oh hell, don’tcha tell me that that is --” “We almost died like, way more times than normal, and got lost in space on top of that, but oh my God, look! We’re actually here! We found it!” “Ya still have that piece’a junk, after all ‘dis time!? And durin’ all that, you ain’t never thought about -- I dunno, grabbing a lil’ more resources!?” “Dude, get over here, look, look, look! You said so yourself, back at the bar --” “I reckon I said a’ lotta things --” “You said this place could be real, and it is, man! It totally is! And we are the first ones to find it! The riches! The mystery! The women! It’s completely ours!” “...Remind me ‘gain why I ain’t dumped yer crazy ass years ago?”

Outside of the amusing interactions that ended up leading to the Guardians versions of “El Dorado”, imagine for a moment how you could take this crossover idea and turn it into something quite clever and original! I’m sure that everyone has their own ideas -- but since I’m always the one who loves coming up with adventures for these two. How about for a moment, you consider this here: ~The two of them, after being on the Trail We Blaze for quite a while, and having to rely on each other’s expertise to figure out the map -- including Yondu getting annoyed at first, because how on earth did his son ever talk him into trucking through wilderness of an unknown world, and “Ya sure ya even know where’th hell ya going, boy?”  -- eventually finding out the secrets of the uncharted planet. That being a long lost Centaurian tribe that automatically hails them both as Gods -- Yondu as the one that “Escaped His Chains” and Peter as "The One Who Carries The Light” ~Yondu being incredibly unnerved by this idea, mostly over Peter’s title, and when said, oh so stupid, son of his gets way too ahead of himself in terms of newfound fame -- “Petey, ya know that ther’ lil’ voice ‘dat folks have 'dat tell ‘em to quit when they’re ahead?”/”Uh, yeah --?”/”YA AIN’T GOT ONE, BOY.” -- he actually decides to go along with the wild and crazy idea of “Godhood”. Firstly, just to make sure that Peter doesn’t end up getting himself killed over all of this, and second because never had any warm feelings for his people; (And finding a full tribe of them isn’t exactly the most comfortable thing) so, if he can have a little bit of fun at their expense and also walk away rich...well, it couldn’t be all bad, right? ~Both Ravager Father and Son having to keep up their God like con for three whole days, until they can get some means of transport back to the Elector properly, and Yondu’s fun starting to melt away into full fledged worry. Because being around these people for one evening is bad enough, and obviously Peter doesn’t release what could happen if they are caught, and the repressed memories alone--! “No, seriously man, look at this -- having been hidden away for so long, aren’t you just the least bit curious  --” ”Hell no, boy! Don’t’yoo even move so much’asa muscle!” ”Hah, Yondu, c’mon, ya gotta be --” ”Wha I just tell ya?! And look’atcha! Yer moving! You are abs’olu’ly moving! And I just said not to!” “Whoa, hang on, I just --” “Ey, ey! Stop, right now, Quill! I mean it!” “P-Pops, ya can’t be --” “I swear ta’th stars, that if you so much as move an inch, I’ll show ya just how many of ‘dem “Eat’yoo” threats I really meant! Just. Stay. Put. Peter!” “For, three, friggin’ days?!”

~Peter eventually escaping out from underneath his dad’s watchful gaze, and exploring the village all on his own. And in doing so, bringing music to the Centaurian children, and teaching them how to dance, oh so awkwardly mind you, but the concept just being very sweet all the same. ~The mood ultimately shifting at the end of the big adventure, because of a Centaurian slaver secretly being among the tribe. And him knowing who both Peter and Yondu are -- who they really are -- and thus believing that they would fetch an amazing price along with the rest of the slaves, and  turning against them because of greed and selfishness. The exact same thing that originally brought both Father and Son to finding this place to begin with. And so, when that terrible truth comes to light, both Yondu and Peter end up throwing their original plans away -- because they may be a-holes, surely, but they’re not, as they would say, 100% dicks, and oh man do they really hate slavers -- and Yondu takes on the slaver single handed, while Peter frees the children and elders that had been captured and tortured while under this terrible Centaurian’s awful control. Meaning that, after all their greatness, the two of them end up being held as heroes among the people. Not Gods, but heroes. And somehow that just feels a whole hell of a lot better.

~The Centaurians going a bit further with their praise, and offering Yondu a place among their tribe because of how he destroyed the slaver with his own hands, and broke free all the chains that held them down. But Yondu simply shaking his head to their words, knowing well enough that his place is out there among the Stars -- with a certain annoying ass lil’ Lord of them right beside him as they both chart their own paths through the galaxy. ~Yondu throwing an arm around Peter’s shoulder, and the two of them walking away from the village with massive grins on their faces.

Not only because they make damn fine heroes when they want to be, but also during the intense battle, both Father and Son managed to take whatever the slaver had on him. That being a fair amount of credits that will keep the Ravagers going for quite a while, but also some rather interesting coordinates to a nearby Slaver camp.

“Ah’m kinda feeling up to a Free Em and Burn Em run; what’cha say, son?” “I say that you completely read my mind, old man.”

Because maybe Peter and Yondu enjoy the occasional adventure in space, and maybe they both end up getting on each others nerves when that adventure doesn’t go according to plan, (Or goes too well?) and perhaps they completely adore the idea of relaxing with endless amounts wealth underneath them...

...but by the end of the day, they still remain the duo that they’ve always been. The ones that care too deeply and loves too easily, and will willingly protect and save all that they’re able to, including each other, even though they would deny all the way to the grave that they’re nothing more than Ravagers.

And don’t you know that they don’t have a heart?

But even as the Slaver Camp burns down to ashes, and Yondu and Peter manage to grant freedom to the ones that were denied it, and begin their next big adventure together with the rest of Ravagers crew...you know that no matter what comes their way; they won’t ever change.

Freeing slaves, burning camps, getting drunk off their asses and taking the occasional extra unit when no one is looking, they still are the actual worse kinds of heroes that the galaxy has ever known.

...But isn’t that one of the mains reasons that we adore these assholes so much? ;)

[groundramon]

This may or may not be an unpopular opinion but I still think season 1 of teen titans was the most solidly built, plot-wise and pacing-wise.

I’m not saying its necessarily the best because there’s a lot more to whether a show is “good” than objective quality and the basic “rules”/tropes of fiction, but just speaking from the objective standpoint, my knowledge of how stories are constructed, my own hyperanalytical brain being brought out of enjoying the other seasons because the climaxes felt,,,lacking, its the best season.  I also have a slight bias for Robin and his character development but aNYWAYS heres why:

Season 1 of Teen Titans was the only season of Teen Titans that relied on abilities that were shown previously in the show to finish the “final battle” of the season.  Season 2 gets a little bit of slack because Terra’s powers’ very nature was unpredictable, and Season 5 TECHNICALLY relied on pre-existing abilities (unless you count all the superheroes they brought out randomly in the finale, but they did at least set it up before the actual battle started) but its just got too many other problems (that were more the fault of the tropes in general than the execution, like they tried with what they were given but its just..not a smart direction to take a story, but anyways) for me to count it.  Season 3 and 4 do not have that at all.

The first season’s finale, of course, involves Robin being manipulated by Slade into working for him lest his friends die.  The finale is concluded by Robin realizing the source of whats infected his friends and infecting himself with it so that Slade cant kill them without killing him.  I’m also just now realizing that Robin literally threatened suicide to protect his friends and I’m having an existential crisis, but the rant must go on.  And you can argue that Slade should’ve just killed him too, but Slade was willing to do just about anything to get Robin to be his apprentice, as shown by him putting up with Robin’s rebellious behavior in general and even praising it sometimes, so idk man Slade might be an idiot but it checks out with his prior behavior.

But my point of mentioning this, is that it required thinking.  It required Robin to be smart, observant, and quick-thinking - all traits that were expressed quite frequently in that season and were the reason Slade was interested in him in the first place.  Slade lets his guard down, and that allows Robin to overpower him.

Season 3 and 4, meanwhile, do have prior hints to their abilities/finales in earlier seasons (namely season 1, or maybe cyborg’s was in season 2 idk i dont remember) but they werent built up like Robin’s.  Robin is able to defeat Slade with his own abilities, which were established frequently in season 1.  Cyborg does an anime reference and beats the crap out of Brother Blood, and anime reference or not, it was still batshit outta nowhere and he even says “uhhhh i dont think ill ever be able to do that again sorry”.  References dont work if they dont fit your story or arent just jokes, like this is a season finale not a cutaway gag.

Season 4, meanwhile, has two episodes referencing the very abilities Raven gains to defeat Trigon, but there’s no buildup to her gaining those abilities.  And sure, she’s a bit fricked over by Trigon kinda. killing her a little bit, but if anything that should make her powers weaker, not stronger.  And I could’ve argued “well whatever, at least she has new powers” if her powers hadn’t also vanished into thin air like Cyborg’s.

At least Terra’s powers had a reason for disappearing into the night; no other character wasn’t completely in control of their characters, nor did they experience anything that should’ve taken away their powers at the end.

I know its an action show and having your characters become too overpowered either means making bigger and badder villains and ending up with a Dragon Ball situation, but that’s the magic of the first season; Robin doesn’t have to gain anything to defeat his opponent but knowledge about how they work, so much so that Slade was literally able to be the villain again in the next season.  And thats the brilliance of Slade or equally unpowered villains like himself; they rely on intimidation and circumstances, but if they let their guard down, they’re easy to defeat.

Like, Slade isn’t a very interesting character because he has no back story and a very weak motivation (that could be strong if he had a backstory, but I digress), and for personal reasons I want to kill him more than any other villain in any other show, but he is a goddamn brilliant plot device.  He’d probably be one of the best villains out there if he had any kind of development outside of “I kill because im good at it” (which IS an interesting motivation if you give a reason for it, like I can think of a ton of interesting reasons for him to do that, but ya gotta follow up on it you fools)

There’s a reason why Slade was the primary antagonist in the two seasons that I think had the best built finales.

Robin also has one of the more interesting character arcs in my opinion.  I like “you and I are alike, you know” relationships between villains and protagonists, so its a biased pick, but just...idk there’s a reason Robin is still my favorite main teen titan despite not doing all that much in the later seasons except sit around, act edgy, make bad puns, and in general just be an emo nerd.

Idk man.  I also find the first season finale absolutely FASCINATING and ive watched it like 4-5 times help

[cartoonrantingman-blog]

7 suspicious characters in TV shows that the heroes should have discovered (Spoilers)

While watching Teen Titans, I thought (SPOILERS) “You know, if I didn’t already know what happened, I would be completely surprised at Terra’s betrayal”. The show did a good job with keeping that little secret tucked away.

However, not all betrayers/plotters are as sneaky as Terra was. And for some, you just have to say “OMG, HOW CAN YOU NOT SEE THIS, THEY ARE GOING TO BETRAY YOU, THEY’RE THE VILLAIN!”

So I though a while, and here’s seven villains and secret-keepers from TV that obviously were betraying them, but no one in universe saw it coming. The list will be from least obvious to “completely rip your hair out and scream at the dumb main character” kind of obvious.

In either case, there’s a lot of unnecessary dramatic irony in these shows!

#7: Ludo (Star vs the Forces of Evil, S2)

OK, so this one is more of a “They should have noticed this” type of thing. They already knew that Ludo would probably be back, and they didn’t pay him any heed.

Well, LOOK WHAT HAPPENED!

Star’s mom should have noticed that half the wand was missing, and should have tried to retrieve it. So what happened? Yeah, Ludo got it.

He then enslaved some rats and then started STEALING OUT OF THE KINGDOM’S CORNFIELD!

They should have had someone on that at once! Ludo was literally using a magical force to try and steal, and no one detected it or investigated why the corn was disappearing.

Also, poor rats! Ludo can’t keep track of all of them, but not one of them tried to warn everyone about Ludo. That’s just great! 

#6: The Skrull warrior pretending to be Captain America (Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes)

In Marvel universe, the Skrull are shape-shifting aliens who use the memories of people to take over their place and slowly prepare the world for invasion. In the Avengers show, one of the Skrull’s first targets was the Captain himself.

Now, the Skrull are almost exact copies, with little noticability unless you’re looking for it, so you can’t blame anyone for not seeing this coming.

Unless you were Nick Fury.

Nick put together a team to try and root out the skrull. And he was pretty good, until, you know, not noticing that:

A. His right hand woman, Mockingbird, was the Skrull Queen

B. Captain America was a Skrull

And the most infuriating, C. He didn’t notice that Cap had been having secret meetings with unusual people, INCLUDING MOCKINGBIRD!

The first suspicion, and confirmation, for me came when Cap accepted an electronic shield Stark had made for him. Cap said nothing, and he meant NOTHING, could ever replace his shield, even that cool hologram copy, so why did he take it? HE WAS A SKRULL, THAT’S WHY! GOOD GOING, NICK!

#5: Pidge (Voltron: Legendary Defender)

This really ticks me off, but it’s minor to the plot, so it goes lower on the list.

I already knew (thanks to my sister) that Pidge was a girl at the beginning of the series. But as I watched it, it was hard to imagine how no one in the series could see it at first...

First of all, anyone who knew her brother, even just by the legends, would probably know the guy had a sister, not a brother.

Second of all, Hunk notices Pidge has a picture of himself and his “girlfriend”. Yeah, that girl was Pidge. They should have noticed that the guy was her brother and not Pidge, unless they happened to have the exact same face as opposite gendered siblings. Which is some grade-A BS.

Thirdly... They share bathrooms. Someone had to notice that she was a girl in the showers or something.

Fourth, she attended a space academy. They should have gone into routine investigations, which meant that they should have done investigations. Background investigations. So did she really make up a backstory convincing enough to tell an advanced military academy that makes it so that her brother had a brother, even though SHE HAD ALREADY BROKEN IN AND WAS CAUGHT, and that she signed up as a guy. HOW DUMB IS NEO-NASA NOT TO NOTICE THIS?!?!

#4: Stan Pines (Gravity Falls)

You mean to tell me that no one noticed the vending machine?

NO ONE?!

I refuse to believe that no one could expect Stan. He runs the MYSTERY SHACK! Yeah, Stan might hide it well, but Dipper has to suspect at some point that Stan knew about the weirdness.

And taking Dipper’s journal and “forgetting about it” is pretty suspicious as well! And did anyone notice Gideon’s journal disappeared? STAN SURE DID!

But the dreaded vending machine. Oh, that vending machine...

Soos can literally break into it w/out a key. He had to have noticed something about the keypad or the back of the machine!

Stan visited it at night when the kids were still awake even! And they didn’t hear a giant clash of metal when the door closed? NOPE!

Also, THE GOVERNMENT AGENTS DECIDE TO NEVER CHECK BEHIND THE STUPID VENDING MACHINE! REALLY?! EVEN WHEN YOU COME TO GRAVITY FALLS, YOU ARE SURE STAN IS THE CULPRIT, YOU TRACK PARANORMAL PHENOMENON, HOW DO YOU NOT SEE THIS?!

#3: Norman Osborn (Ultimate Spider man)

First of all, he looks sketchy as F***.

So your son Harry is best friends with the guy you’re trying to capture? Even though you don’t know it, Spiderman is literally at your fingertips every time your friend holds a party. But being in Marvel’s “Universe of Obliviousness™ ”, Norman is able to be normal.

So Norman runs a big tech company, which automatically puts him in SHIELD’s watchful eye (get it? cuz Nick Fury has an eyepatch...? Aww, screw it...), and they usually have a few connections and leads on almost everyone. Relating back to a few #s up, though, Nick seems to not suspect anything when it comes to potential threats. This is true with Norman Osborn.

So when Doc Oc sprouts outta nowhere, no one suspects a thing about how an ex-partner of Osborn’s is back from the dead. Norman even goes so far as to TELL THEM THAT HE WAS A FORMER ASSOCIATE! What’s a bigger tip off?

Secondly, Peter should have noticed that Norman left at very strange and often convenient times, like when they both left Harry’s end of the year celebration dinner because they both had something to do with Doctor Octopus.

Then there’s the whole “Secret room with a bunch of really explosive and dangerous weaponry” that is in his office. That should set some alarms off, especially Harry’s.

But here’s the biggest part: Harry gets the Venom symbiote from a party and puts it on. Norman doesn’t notice this, and doesn’t bother to find out what the Venom symbiote is doing during all of this. However, when Venom shows up and reveals himself to be his son, Harry should’ve guessed that something was up, mainly due to the fact that Norman ACCEPTED Venom like a son! Seriously, that’s a bit ****ed up.

So, with the dangerous room, the Doctor Octopus lead, and the whole reaction to Venom, as well as the whole secretiveness of his character, HOW DID NO ONE SUSPECT HIM?!

#2: Harrison Wells/Eobard Thawn (Flash)

OK, Eobard Thawn did a pretty good job at hiding the fact that he was the Reverse-Flash. What’s bulls*** is that when he was on the verge of being caught, SOMETHING WOULD HAPPEN TO UNDO IT!

I mean, HE FREAKING KILLED CISCO! And then Barry undid this by traveling back in time and undoing it by accident!

Cisco will later vibe that Wells killed him, but he doesn’t get away with it at the time!

Another thing: he uses a wheel chair when his legs are perfectly fine! Someone has to notice that, because he’s surrounded by SCIENTISTS AND DOCTORS!

Also, Wells has murdered a lot of people and gotten away with it! Oh, and the whole particle accelerator, Gorilla Grodd, etc. Bottom line? They should have realized something was up. Joe did, and did almost nothing to stop it!

But the cream of him was his secret room. No one ever found it when he was still undercover. And he visited that thing every single day! No one ever found him? Yeah, no one suspected a thing. You people are supposed to be geniuses, and the detective was the only one to suspect anything! AND THAT’S HIS JOB!

And that’s just part 1 of this section!

Part 2 comes in Season 2, when Earth-2 Wells comes. Keep in mind, he is not Thawn.

Earth-2 Wells comes when Zoom and Jay Garrick visits their dimension. He has conflicts with the team, but mostly earns Barry’s trust. However, Zoom offers him his daughter in exchange for the Flash’s speed. For the next few episodes, Wells acts as shady as F***!

Firstly, he kills off what may have been the only way of defeating Zoom, the Turtle.

Secondly, he keeps working on some mysterious side-project thing that no one seems to question.

Finally, HE LITERALLY TELLS BARRY THAT, IF GIVEN THE CHOICE, HE WILL BETRAY BARRY AND KILL FOR HIS DAUGHTER’S SAFETY! WHAT MORE DOES THE FLASH NEED?!

BOTH HARRISONS ARE TRAITORS! AND THEY’RE TWO DIFFERENT PEOPLE!

However, this last one is a group of people who just are constantly lying and betraying the main characters... and NO ONE notices them.

#1: TEAM ROCKET! (Pokemon)

We all know who Team Rocket is.

Here’s how the typical Team Rocket shtick works:

1. See pokemon that is favorable

2. Disguise oneself and attempt to blend in

3. Trick the twerp or twerps into believing you are good person

4. Nab the pokemon

5. Take off disguises and say your motto (motto depends on which series you’re in)

6. Attempt to escape

7. (Optional, but almost always happens) Get your a**es handed to you and BLAST OFF AGAAAAAAAIN! (woobuffet!)

So the thing to remember here is #2: Disguise oneself. Team Rocket has miraculously managed to horribly disguise themselves and still trick Ash and friends into believing that they still want to take their pokemon so that they can improve or care for them. And after 6 different regions, you think Ash would learn, right? 

NOPE! HE STILL WILL HAND PIKACHU OVER TO THE LIKES OF THESE PEOPLE:

IT IS SO OBVIOUS WHEN IT IS TEAM ROCKET! YOU CAN ALWAYS TELL EVEN IF THEY DIDN’T ALREADY SHOW THEMSELVES IN AN EPISODE ALREADY! EVEN IF JESSE AND JAMES PERFECTLY DISGUISED THEMSELVES, THEY STILL WOULD BE WALKING AROUND WITH A TALKING MEOWTH WHO CAN NEVER FOOL ANYONE AND A FREAKING WOOBUFFET WITH A HYPERACTIVE DISORDER! ASH SHOULD BE THE MOST DISTRUSTING PERSON IN THE WORLD IF THESE GUYS HAVE BEEN FOLLOWING HIM AROUND FOR 20+ SEASONS AND SOMEHOW TRICKING THE IDIOT TO STEAL HIS POKEMON!

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Anywho, there is a lesson to be learned here: good shows are the ones that make the dramatic irony very minimal in the show, so that there is a big reveal when the climax of the series/episode happens. If you want, make some people suspicious! Make them go out of their way to bust them, only to fail in the process, or something, because all these TV shows with major plotholes are going to drive me crazy!

[thejpfdude-blog]

The Week in Anime (Week of 1/30/17)

Heyo and welcome to another edition of TWiA! This week the busy-ness of my schedule ramped up 11 notches, so my blurbs might be a bit shorter than I’d like them to be (except for a certain one I wrote in angry conditions). With that side note, let’s start off with those classic rankings, with a familiar show added in to make up for one I dropped (which I’ll talk about later). Note that I now added a tilde (a ~ sign) for every show that I gave a award/blurb to.

Rankings:

~1 (0). Demi-chan wa Kataritai (8.5/10) [4/?]

~2 (0). Kono Subarashii Sekai ni Shukufuku wo! 2 (8.5/10) [3/10]

~3 (+1). Kuzu no Honkai (8/10) [3/?]

~4 (+1). Kobayashi-san Chi no Maid Dragon (8/10) [3/?]

~5 (-2). Gabriel DropOut (7/10) [3/12]

~6 (+1). Little Witch Academia (TV) (7/10) [4/25]

7 (-1). Nobunaga no Shinobi (6/10) [17/?]

8 (BACK IN ACTION). Aggressive Retsuko (6/10) [41/?]

9 (0). Sengoku Choujuu Giga: Otsu (5/10) [3/13]

~10 (-2). Rewrite: Moon and Terra (4/10) [3/?]

11 (0). Nyanbo (4/10) [17/26]

Awards:

The “Triggered From Outta Nowhere” Award: Kobayashi-san Chi no Maid Dragon

I’m writing this blurb right now from a study room in my dorm. You know why? Because the people next to me are freakin’ loud as balls. This is probably going to sound like a rant at them and might have almost nothing to do with this episode because I’m really pissed off right now, so apologies in advance if that is the case (editor’s note: it is. You’ve been warned). There were multiple times I’ve had to knock on their door at 2 in the morning because they were holding a party. Now let me say it isn’t entirely their fault: the structure of our dorm is that two rooms share a bathroom, and the doors/walls aren’t very soundproof. In fact, they’re not soundproof. At all. So I can hear them somewhat if I’m close to the wall, which unfortunately my bed is. Having said that, they don’t freakin’ learn and I’m starting to get really pissed off. I wish I could move away from this place right now, and it’s not just because of them. It’s the poor food, frat-like atmosphere, the not-so-great location from anything except the business school (which I don’t have classes in), and a lot of things. Unfortunately, there’s no termination clause in my lease, so I’m stuck here until the semester is over in May. Sucks, but I’m just trying to lavish in the positives: it’s a safe neighborhood, the room is pretty nice, it’s quiet when the neighbors aren’t here, and at least I have somewhere to live (I don’t really want to reveal my location, but to save others who want to come here: do not apply to Bowles Hall. Unless you’re the type of person who likes being in the “cool” clique from highschool or likes to party every day).

Now what the baloney did that have to do with Maidragon? Well, that scene when Tohru goes to each neighbor to tell them of their noise complaint kinda reminded me of the situation I’m experiencing right now. Other than that though, I guess I just kind of wanted to vent about stuff in my life. I know that it’s not really the right place to do so, but I am feeling a little better right now and it’s a nice segway into something in the show.

Overall, this show’s been really fun to watch: it’s ridiculous at times, but it also just nice to relax and laugh to. And that OP is really fun, probably a contender for my favorite OP of the season. We’ll see what the other dragons are like, because I know there are still more to be introduced.

And yeah, sorry for the rant. I’ll try not to do this again.

The “Prime Example of Why Anime is Made” Award: Demi-chan wa Kataritai

Everybody knows the main reason that anime is made: to promote the source material. And apparently this show’s source material is pretty good. And so I read it. And then I got the first volume of the manga. Seriously:

So yeah, the show is doing its job (at least for me). And doing it well too, considering I never get manga. But I’m not complaining: it’s been my favorite show this season, although I unfortunately have to say that the crushes that Machi and Sato-sensei have aren’t really my thing. Well, more Machi’s than anything: it’s not going to go anywhere, so it’s a bit annoying to watch. I’ve read ahead a little in the manga, and let me just say I don’t like the direction this is heading. Then again, I’m only like two episodes-worth of material ahead, so anything past that point that may be good I didn’t experience. We’ll see I guess.

The “Most Contradictory to My Beliefs” Award: Kuzu no Honkai

I say that characters are the most important thing for me in a show, and usually when I say that I have in my mind likeable characters. But this show really changed that idea: sure I already knew about “morally bad” characters from shows I watched, but those characters were put in roles to be hated, like in the antagonist role, so I was fine with them. But this show, man it’s weird. Pretty much everybody in this show is a bad person, some possibly even horrible. So I should hate this. But I don’t, in fact I’m loving this show. It’s built on such bad morals, but it’s very well done and it’s fun to watch it all unfold. And Hanabi has her moé moments as well, along with the other stuff. I’m excited to see what’s wrong with the teacher, both the female one and the male one maybe later. And also see just how wrong this could get.

The “Most Rushed Final Episode” Award: Rewrite (Moon and Terra)

Hmm, yes, quite. So much was going on this episode to end the Moon arc, and I was pretty bored with the info that they were throwing at me. Mainly because I already knew all of it, but also because the episode itself wasn’t really anything too special. Though I have to admit that I got super hyped when they started playing “Rewrite” (the song, not the anime or VN). Other than that, nothing too special. Hopefully with the amount of episodes left, they’ll be able to adapt Terra into something pretty good: here’s hoping.

The “Best Throwback” Award: KonoSuba 2

KonoSuba continues with its humor, and I’m loving it. They even included some stuff from last season: from the Chris pantsu steal to the amazing hand animation to the Aqua rainbow barf, they combined them into some fun few last minutes of the episode. Overall, this show so far has been as good as the first season, maybe even better. They’ve done a nice job with keeping the comedy while also making the “heartwarming” stuff fit in well with the tone of the show, something that I think they didn’t really do a good job of last season with the whole “Kazuma dying in the winter snowstorm” thing. The scene with the wizard-turned-lich was actually pretty heartwarming, and the interesting part was that they didn’t turn on it for a comedic moment: they just built up on the previous scenes for that. Not to mention, the animation was good this episode too. We’ll see if derp face returns, or if that was just a one-episode thing.

The “Worst Worker” Award: Gabriel from Gabriel DropOut

But we love her for it anyway. Well not reallly. At least she’s better than two-faced Umaru though.

The “Red Flags” Dropped Show of the Week Award: Masamune-kun no Revenge

This show’s been slowly one that I’ve dreaded to watch each week, and this week I put it off until the last moment, and decided to just drop it. It’s good at times, but I’m not liking the tropes that they’re using. Tropes aren’t inherently bad: it’s the execution of them that matters. But unfortunately, this show’s not using them well: starting (and really ending) with Adagaki Aki and her weird-to-say name. The classic ice queen tsundere, but doesn’t really add anything else to the mix like Yukino with her backstory or Senjougahara with her other aspects of the personality. If this was a few seasons ago, I would have kept on, but with my busy schedule and me being a bit drop-happy now that my reason for keeping on a show (in case it gets good later) isn’t really being validated, I’m done. Maybe I’ll pick this back up if it really gets good, but with the other shows I dropped not doing so (Seiren with its arc end, Fuuka with its continued WTF moments, Urara Meirochou with its not being anything great, etc.), I don’t really know if that’s going to be a thing. Oh well, can’t like every show.

Best Episode of the Week Award: Little Witch Academia

In the twist of the century, this show! Literally just last week I was talking about how I didn’t like this show as much as others were liking it, and yet this week’s episode was so good that I had to give props. Maybe because it was a Lotte focused episode, but I really enjoyed watching this. None of the believing stuff, and what was the believing stuff was at least somewhat realistic and not all “oh magic is here to save the day”. I’ve found I don’t like Ako as a main character because of her antics and because she’s really the instigator for the whole “believe” stuff. If we get more episodes not so focused on her, I think this’ll be a fine Sunday night watch.

And that’s all for this week! Thanks for reading: hopefully my schedule won’t get too crazy so that I don’t have to put this on another hiatus! I’ll see you in the next post!